Down Time
by Little Author
Summary: "See, Sammy? Star Wars is way better than any lame farm ghost documentary." Sam rolled his eyes at his brother. He wasn't going to admit that Dean was kinda right. Sam and Dean get some down time during a case and Sam muses about his relationship with his brother. Set in very early Season Nine. Just some brotherly love, beer, and angst.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or these characters. I'm just having fun. Painful, heartbreaking fun.**

**Rating: T, to be safe. Very mild language, some drinking.**

**Set in early Season Nine, no definite episode. So potential spoilers if you haven't seen the first three or four episodes of that season. Possibly.**

**I thought I'd give Sam's point of view a try this go-'round.**

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Research duty in the motel sucked sometimes. Sam Winchester sighed, piercing the thick silence that hung in the air. His research was hitting dead ends and it seemed like the case was going nowhere fast. Flashes from the muted TV danced in front of Sam's eyes as he closed them against the harsh glare of the computer screen. _What time was it?_ 7:30. Dean should have been back with the food and information from the locals by now. Sam's stomach rumbled loudly in agreement. Stretching his legs out from beneath his too-short chair, he turned his attention to the TV. Maybe it was time for a break. Sam grabbed the remote sitting on the table in Dean's spot and clicked the unmute button. The sound of a crappy reality TV show suddenly blared into existence and Sam winced at the intrusion. Dean always kept the volume up too high. Turning the volume down, Sam started flicking through the channels to find something vaguely entertaining to wipe away the mind numbing fatigue that his afternoon of research had caused. An interesting documentary on haunted dwellings in the United States caught his eye and he settled in to watch.

_"This old Southern mansion has documents of hauntings since the mid eighteenth century. The legend started when the wife of a wealthy tobacco plantation owner was found hung in a tree…"_

The door of the room rattled and opened, revealing Dean still in his "monkey suit" with a six pack of beer and a brown paper bag full of whatever greasy food he'd decided to get this time. "Hey," Dean said, shoving his keys into his back pocket.

"Hey, you're late." Sam sat up and sniffed the air, hoping it was anything but burgers. The faint smell of Chinese food wafted past him as Dean walked behind him and set the food and beer on the table.

"_Accounts say that Mr. Turner was found drowned four months after his wife's death. Most people thought he committed suicide…"_

"I got hung up at the station. That sheriff guy just wouldn't shut up about his damn Yorkie." Dean cleared out his spot and sat down with a tired groan. "It was like the thing was his kid."

Sam laughed softly as he watched Dean choose two beers and popped the tops off with his hands. Sam accepted his bottle gratefully and took a sip as Dean busied himself unloading the food. The beer was cold and smooth and went down easy. Sam secretly admired Dean's taste in beers. This stuff was good.

"Did you get anything about the new vic?" Sam asked as he dug eagerly into his lo mein noodles.

Dean gulped down a quarter of his beer. "There won't be a cause of death until the coroner does his thing tomorrow but it looks like severe head trauma."

"Head trauma? That's not exactly our kind of stuff." Sam's eyebrows furrowed into a crease.

"It is if he was found in his bed with the doors and windows locked," Dean said around a large mouthful of Schezwan beef, stabbing his fork into the white takeout container.

Sam groaned internally. They were nowhere even close to figuring this thing out. First the girl in the shady hotel, and now the guy with his brains bashed in for no discernable reason. He slurped down more noodles thoughtfully, reaching for the house special chicken.

"_Witnesses to the fourth death at the mansion claim to have seen some sort of spirit the night of the tragedy…." _

"Dude, what are you watching?" Dean pointed his fork at the TV. "This has 'snooze fest' written all over it."

Sam looked away from his brother and felt a slight tinge of annoyance that always rose to the back of his mind whenever Dean teased him. "It seemed interesting." Sam bit down any further comment with a gulp of beer.

"Well I'm not gonna sit through this torture." Dean grabbed the remote next to Sam and started flipping through the channels.

"Hey! I was still watching that!" Sam blurted out, reaching to grab the remote back from Dean. Dean pushed his hand away. Sam speared a piece of chicken with his fork, scowling.

"You aren't anymore. There's gotta be somethin' better than ghosts at an old farm. It isn't even original!"

"It was a plantation and it was a historical documentary." Sam huffed and drank down the last of his beer. He probably was going to need more than one tonight.

Dean alternated flipping through channels and shoving spicy beef into his mouth. Sam polished off the rest of his chicken and popped open another bottle. The silence was refreshing. It was almost…nice for once. He couldn't remember the last time he spent time with his brother like this. Was it before the Trials? Even before that? Sam's eyebrows turned down into a crease as he frowned to himself, trying to remember. He noticed Dean's worried glance in his direction. Dean was always looking at him that way, ever since the angels fell. Sam's eyebrows scrunched together tighter and he took a sip from his beer.

Dean's incessant channel changing paused as his brother kicked off his shoes, shrugged off his suit jacket, and loosened his tie.

"_Another classic movie is up next at nine! Get ready for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope!"_ The commercial voiceover announced. Dean popped open another beer and looked at Sam, a joyful light in his eyes.

"See, Sammy? _Star Wars_ is way better than any lame farm ghost documentary." Dean took a swig from the bottle and settled back into his chair, a small smug smirk resting on his face.

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother. He wasn't going to admit that Dean was kinda right. Picking up his beer, he stretched his legs out in front of him and slouched lower in the chair. He watched the commercials lazily, zoning out thoughts about the case, about Dean, about the angels, about Heaven. This was a good moment.

"Man, I can't even remember the last time we watched this together," Dean said, stirring Sam out of his self-induced commercial hypnosis.

Sam turned his head to look at his brother, surprised. His brother hardly ever voiced sentimental feelings, unless it was about pie. Dean's expression was one that Sam couldn't quite place. Was it sadness? Wistfulness? Nostalgia? Sam figured it was some combination of the three. "Yeah, me either. Must have been before I went to Stanford…"

Sam trailed off, feeling his stomach clench with guilt and a deep longing sadness that always came when he thought about his relationship with his brother. He couldn't remember the last time things were ever "okay" between them. He couldn't remember when the secrets, the pain, the loss, the rejection, and the betrayal got in the way of being just brothers. Just Sam and Dean. Sam took a long drink of beer, relishing in the slight burn of the alcohol at the back of his throat. He almost wished for something a bit stronger.

Sam could feel Dean's gaze even as he turned his head back to the TV when the opening fanfare started up. Sam cleared his throat. "It's starting," he said, glancing back at Dean. Dean nodded slightly, seeming to clear his head.

"Good," Dean grunted. Sam could hear him shifting further down his chair to put his feet on the spare chair next to him. As the title sequence rolled onto the screen, Sam glanced back to his brother. The TV flickered across Dean's face, stoic and as steady as it ever had been. It was a comforting sight, in a way. It harkened back to a simpler time. Sam's thoughts strayed from the movie…

_Dean burst through the door with his latest food score. "Hey guess what I got Sammy?" _

_Nine year old Sammy looked up from his special blowing his bangs out of his eyes. "Did you get Lucky Charms?" He hoped Dean remembered. _

_Dean smiled and ruffled Sammy's hair. "Yeah, I did. But I also got something better! I've been saving up some of my money for something special and we have a video player this time so I got this!" Dean held up a video tape._

_Sammy squinted at the tape. "What is it?"_

_Dean ran to the TV/dresser hutch of their new apartment. "I got Star Wars! The guy at the store sold it to me for three bucks!" He pushed the tape inside the VCR machine. Sammy watched quizzically as the machine whirred into life to rewind the tape._

"_Star Wars? What's that?" Sam shifted over to make room for Dean. His brother was practically bouncing with excitement._

"_Only one of the best movies of all time," Dean said as he pressed the play button when the tape clicked to a stop. "Let's watch!"_

_Two hours later, Sammy learned that Dean was right and Star Wars really was one of the best movies of all time…_

Sam was snapped from his memories with staccato bursts of blaster fire from the Stormtroopers on the screen. He glanced at Dean again, who had his full attention on the movie. Sam forced his mind to focus on the screen. Sam and Dean watched in comfortable silence as the story unfolded. Sam smiled when Dean laughed at the parts that Dean always laughed at. By the time the Death Star was destroyed and the heroes saved the day, the beer was gone, the rest of the food was finished, and Sam felt an unusual feeling of peace settle over him.

"Well, back to research. I'm thinking Dad's journal might have mentioned somethin' about what we've been seeing." Dean said, stretching as he stood. Sam stood as well, starting to clear all the trash from their dinner.

"Check the Impala for Dad's journal. I think it's in the back seat," offered Sam from the trash can. Dean put on his shoes as Sam finished clearing up the table. Just as Dean was heading out the door, Sam stopped.

"Hey Dean?" Sam felt like he had to say something, anything. Dean turned toward Sam, hand on the doorknob.

"Yeah, Sammy?"

"Thanks." Dean blinked, and Sam saw what he thought was surprise and gratitude flash across his brother's face. It was gone in an instant behind Dean's impervious mask. Dean shrugged and nodded, before walking out the door into the night.

Sam sighed, gathered up his research, and turned on his computer. As the computer started up, his mind wandered to back to his brother, back to the last time they had some down time together without ripping each other's heads off or impending death and destruction. To the parts between them that had been broken long ago. Maybe things could be different this time. Sam couldn't exactly explain it, but he felt as though he had been given a second chance. Things between him and Dean probably won't ever be the same again. Some things were broken beyond repair. But right then, in that moment, it was just Sam and Dean. Just Sam and Dean were worth hanging on to. And maybe that's all that really mattered.

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**A/N: Well, there you have it! Let me know what you think! The end felt a bit weird, but I couldn't figure out how to work it out. I got the idea for this from the little Star Wars jokes that Dean makes and the fact that Sam uses the fake name Antilles. I can imagine the boys bonded over it when they were younger, and I thought they deserved a peaceful moment. **

**Spoilery-explanation. Don't read if you haven't seen Season 9:**

**I've been having a lot feelings lately about Sam and Dean's relationship in the past season (and all the seasons, quite frankly), so this came from a place of sadness for them. Standing alone, in this moment, it is happy. But finishing the season looking back, we all know that Sam felt something was really broken between him and Dean and it could never be fixed after he found out Dean lied to him again. ****I tried to bring in the fact that in early Season 9 Sam was starting to heal and his relationship with Dean had been starting to improve. Things had always felt a little broken between those two since forever and I also wanted to bring that in as well. So maybe at this point in time, feeling good and feeling whole again, he thought that he could finally fix things with Dean. Sadly, in the end, that wasn't the case, and things just ended up more broken than before (excuse me while I run into the corner and ugly cry).**

**Enough rambling. Thank you for reading!**


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